[12/05/05 - 12:00 AM]Action-Packed 10-Minute Prequel Leads Into New Season of "24"

[via press release from FOX]

ACTION-PACKED 10-MINUTE PREQUEL LEADS INTO NEW SEASON OF �24�

PREQUEL AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON THE �24: SEASON 4� DVD TO BE RELEASED DECEMBER 6

With the clock ticking closer toward the season five premiere of 24, information linking the series' fourth and fifth seasons is available exclusively on a DVD prequel featuring series stars Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub. 24's season four DVD hits stores Tuesday. Dec. 6, and the fifth season premieres with a four-hour, two-night event Sunday, Jan. 15 and Monday, Jan. 16 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The second night on Monday, Jan. 16 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) includes the series' 100th episode.

Included in the DVD release of "24: Season 4" is an exclusive, action-packed, 10-minute prequel adventure that was shot over the summer to give the show's most enthusiastic fans a sneak peak into Jack Bauer's movements in the months after he was forced to fake his own death and start a new life. Set 14 months after the events of season four and four months prior to the events of the upcoming season five, the short film begins with a clandestine meeting between Jack Bauer (Sutherland), who has been working and living deep undercover, and his CTU colleague Chloe O'Brian (Rajskub), and ends with a high-speed pursuit between Bauer and an unknown enemy. Sponsored by Toyota, this prequel, not to be broadcast domestically, offers fans a clue as to Jack's enemies and new identity in the upcoming season, and answers a number of questions posed in the final moments of the season four finale, including:

- Where did Jack Bauer go when he was forced to leave Los Angeles?

- How is he protecting his identity?

- Who besides Chloe knows that he is still alive?

"The prequel was a great opportunity to address some unanswered questions from the end of last season," said executive producer and show runner Howard Gordon, "and to give fans some clues from the season ahead � and to deliver a really exciting car chase."

Season five picks up 18 months after the exciting conclusion of season four, as national security is brutally breached. A presumed dead Jack Bauer (Sutherland) is actually living a new life with Diane (Connie Britton) and her son Derek (Brady Corbet). A shaky President Logan (Gregory Itzin) is running the nation, while composed Bill Buchanan (James Morrison) commands CTU alongside key operatives Curtis Manning (Roger Cross), Edgar Stiles (Louis Lombardi) and Chloe O'Brian (Rajskub).

Also featured in season five will be Emmy Award-winning actress Jean Smart as First Lady Martha Logan. Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) and Audrey Raines (Kim Raver) return, while Lynn McGill (Sean Astin) joins CTU. Additionally, Julian Sands will play billionaire bad guy "Vladamir Bierko" while Peter Weller portrays "Christopher Henderson," the federal agent who recruited Jack to counter-terrorist work more than a decade ago. JoBeth Williams is Henderson's wife, Miriam.

24, created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, is a production of Real Time Productions and Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Brian Grazer, Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon and Evan Katz are the executive producers. Kiefer Sutherland is a co-executive producer.